Several city councillors said they want to see more done to expand composting and recycling to apartments and condos during a municipal services committee meeting Monday. From left are Coun. Linda Bussey, Mayor Mark Heyck and Coun. Adrian Bell. - Shane Magee/NNSL photo |
Councillor seeks citywide recycling program
Coun. Adrian Bell wants to see if apartment compost collection, additional curbside service possible by 2017
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Friday, November 20, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A city councillor says he plans to formally ask administration to look into the cost of introducing curbside recycling and speeding up plans for introducing compost collection from apartment and condo buildings.
Coun. Adrian Bell raised the issue Monday during a municipal services committee meeting. His proposal was supported by several other councillors, including Coun. Julian Morse and Coun. Shauna Morgan, who said expansion of collection programs should be a high priority for council.
"I realize it's short notice to be talking about something for (the 2016 budget) but I'd like to bring forward a proposal for 2017 that we develop a program and investigate costs," Bell said.
"It may be that it's cost-prohibitive but I think we have to have the conversation."
Residents have the option to collect recyclables and take them to several drop-off points in the city under the current system. Apartment and condo dwellers, meanwhile, currently don't face bag limits or the prospect of sorting waste for composting.
Chris Greencorn, the city's director of public works and engineering, said creating a curbside recycling program is a bigger project than originally anticipated. It would require more trucks and changes to its collections contracts, he said.
"The issue of curbside collection of recycling is a completely new cost for the budget, it's something we haven't considered at this point," said Greencorn.
The city examined the cost of curbside recycling almost a decade ago.
The city suggested a $6 fee, in addition to a garbage fee, in 2006. A survey at the time found 52 per cent of residents who responded supported paying the fee to have the service.
The city has been instead concentrating on composting, said Greencorn. It began rolling out green carts to collect compost to detached homes in Range Lake in fall 2014 and has now expanded it to include Old Town, School Draw Avenue, Niven subdivision and Ndilo.
The draft 2016 budget shows the final expansion to handle compost from multi-family residential, industrial and commercial sectors coming in 2018.
Adding recycling and composting collection to existing buildings, especially downtown, is complicated by space requirements for bins.
The city has been working with property owners to have their buildings opt into compost collection, said Greencorn.
"Every year that passes, we add more people to the list and we find it's been a much easier and not heavy-handed solution compared to other jurisdictions," said Greencorn.
Bell balked at the "heavy-handed" comment.
"I do think perhaps we should be even handed and treat the high density residential in the same manner (as houses)," he said.
Coun. Rebecca Alty pointed out there had been discussion several years ago about having future developments set aside room for bins that could be added for collections programs in the future.
Jeff Humble, the city's director of planning and development, said developments are examined by public works which could request space be set aside.
"If there's any thoughts by council on that matter, we can certainly bring that change to make it a mandatory requirement for all such developments going forward," Humble said
That prompted Morse to ask if council could direct administration to begin drafting such a change but Mayor Mark Heyck said councillors should think about it and bring it up again at a future meeting.
Other cities have curbside collection, Bell said, even in compact downtown areas so Yellowknife doesn't have to reinvent the wheel.
An audit of what was going into the landfill in 2007 showed about 26 per cent of waste was material that could have been composted if that option was available.
Removing compost from the landfill means there is more space in the landfill cells for non-compostable waste. A cubic metre of landfill space has historically cost about $150.
A cell, which is where the compacted garbage is stored with a liner to prevent contaminates from escaping, can be expensive to build.
Adding a new cell next year at the landfill is expected to cost the city $3.5 million, according to the draft 2016 budget.
That cell is expected to last seven years.
It also expects to spend $750,000 to further expand the compost pad. The city has been incrementally expanding the pad where the compost is placed and processed to spread the cost of building it over several construction years and to expand only as new neighbourhoods start composting.
The compost pad will need to expand as more residents are added to the collection program, said Greencorn.
